


Team building

by myotishia



Series: A path less walked [2]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen, Other, Suicidal Ideation, cannibalism mention, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22943149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myotishia/pseuds/myotishia
Summary: Back from suspension Ianto, Tosh and Owen join Jack and Gwen on a trip to the Brecon beacons.  What should be just a team building camping trip ends up becoming a living nightmare.
Relationships: Gwen Cooper/Rhys Williams, Owen Harper/Toshiko Sato
Series: A path less walked [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1645870
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	1. Camping

Gwen was relieved to have the others back, if for no other reason than the blasting argument with Rhys that would arise from camping with Jack. He was already suspicious because she couldn’t tell him what she was doing at work but that would tip him over the edge into being sure she was cheating on him. She lent on the back of the SUV as Ianto was grabbing one of the bagged tents.

“What do you think those two are up to?” She asked, a mischievous smile on her face.

He raised an eyebrow. “Hmm? Who?”

“Owen and Tosh. They have to be sleeping together.”

“You think so?”

“Oh come on, look at them. They have to be.”

“Tosh is a romantic. Owen’s a twat. I don’t see how that could work.”

“I think she looks happy. Should I ask her? No… Maybe… Should I?”

He chuckled softly. “Go on then.” He’d spoken to Gwen a lot over his suspension. It had started with a depressed, drunken, call that she’d answered thinking it might be about work. She’d managed to convince him to go home instead of downing any more alcohol. He’d been wildly apologetic the next morning, but she’d just told him he could call her whenever he needed to talk things over. He’d taken her up on the offer a couple of times when he was having trouble coping, which was a little uncomfortable when her boyfriend had answered one night. He hoped she'd managed to explain.

She edged over to Tosh who was taking readings for any kind of rift activity.

“Anything happen while you were away?” She asked quietly. 

“Hmm? Anything?”

“I don’t know… Maybe a new boyfriend?” 

Tosh blushed brightly. “It’s nothing official. We’re just seeing how things go.”

“I knew it.” She beamed with a girlish excitement that was quite infectious. “When did this happen?”

“The first Friday we were off.”

“It’s nice to see you so happy. Plus if he breaks your heart I’ll punch him for you.”

She giggled. “Thanks. I think we’ll be ok, but I’ll keep it in mind.” She looked over to see Owen closing the SUV. “Oh, remember to lock up properly.”

He stretched. “Why? We’re in the middle of nowhere. Who’s going to nick it?”

“That’s not the point. Anyway, we’re here because people have been going missing. Everything we need to find them is in there.”

He rolled his eyes but grabbed the keys and locked up anyway. 

“So we show up and this little old lady was fending off a weevil alone.” Gwen said as she recapped the weeks the others were away. “I swear she was four foot eight max and the frailest thing I’ve ever seen but she was wielding a broom like a champ.”

Jack laughed warmly. “Seriously. We didn’t know who we were saving, the woman or the poor weevil. It was a full grown male and it was cowering from this lady and her broom.”

“She was lovely after we dragged it away. I thought she was going to try and adopt Jack.”

“I only just escaped.” 

The relaxed atmosphere was nice after how tense things had been. Owen was still being a bit grumpy but what was new. He looked out over the darkening horizon. 

“Think there’s a pub around here somewhere?” He asked. 

Gwen sighed. “Oh come on, being outside won’t kill you.”

“It’s cold and if I’m going to be cold I like to be drinking and cold.”

“We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“Actually,” Ianto said plainly, “There’s a village not far from here.”

She sighed. “Don’t encourage him.”

Everyone jumped as the SUVs alarm blared. Jack was up and ready to fire upon whatever had set it off before anyone else had even turned. He scanned the area in the dim light, the wind hiding any movement in the grass or surrounding hedgerow. Whatever had set off the alarm was gone. Owen switched off the alarm, leaving them all in relative silence. Jack placed his pistol away. 

“Looks like I’ll be keeping lookout tonight.”

Long after sunset everyone but Jack had settled to sleep. He was trying to make sure they weren't crept up on when, in the distance, he heard a scream. He stood and pointed his torch towards the direction of the sound. He was considering the possibility that he had fallen asleep for a moment and dreamed it when another scream drifted over on the wind. Movement from the tents said he wasn’t the only one. 

“I’m going to go and check this out.”

Owen rolled his stiff shoulders. “Not on your own your not.”

Gwen watched them run off and sighed. “We’ll just wait here then will we?”

“Apparently.” Ianto mumbled, still half asleep. 

Tosh yawned, trying to follow the lights that were heading into the distance. 

“Watch this be a fox.”

“I’ve never heard a fox that sounds like that before.”

“You never know. It could b-” He froze as he felt a knife was pressed against his throat. The women turned and raised their weapons to the figure. 

It pressed the blade against Iantos skin. “Drop them or he dies.” 

“Ok, ok.” Gwen said, slowly dropping her gun to the grass. Tosh doing the same. “Take whatever you want, just let him go.”

“Here’s the thing, what we want is you.” He gestured to others that had been hiding in the shadows of the SUV who walked out and calmly bound the womens arms behind their backs. “Make a noise and he dies. You be good girls and start walking.”

After finding nothing Jack and Owen trudged back to the camp, getting the feeling they’d been lured away but not sure exactly why. 

“Well that was a bust.” Owen complained. “And they’ve gone back to sleep.”

Jack chuckled. “You’d do the same.” He knocked on the side of one of the tents. “Ladies?...” There was no movement. No reply. 

Owen ducked his head into the other tent. “Oi, tea boy… What the…?”

“What?”

“It’s empty.”

Jack tapped his earpiece. “Anyone there? Camp’s looking a little empty here.” No reply. 

Owen crouched as he spotted the guns left half hidden in the grass. “Jack, I don’t think they walked off.”

In the distance they could hear a heavy engine. The captain ran to the SUV. 

“We might be able to catch them.”

Owen threw himself into the passenger seat as the SUV tyres spun. No traction. He looked out to see all four completely flat. 

“Shit! We’ve been stitched up.”

Jack clambered up onto the roof, watching headlights in the distance, stopping in a cluster of other lights. The village.

Ianto was the last to be pushed down into the old wine cellar before the door was locked. The slight cut on his neck itched and his wrists burned from the rope tied around them. 

“Are you ok?” Tosh asked quietly. 

“I’ve been better but I’ll survive. What was all that?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t look like they were affected by anything alien.”

Gwen shrugged as she looked around for anything to cut through her bindings. “Maybe they thought we were the ones kidnapping people.”

“Going by that stack of backpacks and old coats I’d say they know exactly who’s doing the kidnappings.” Ianto said, backing away from the stack of discarded belongings. 

They all stared at the stack before realising they still needed to escape. Gwen sat on the floor and leaned back, hooking her wrists under her bum so she could slip her legs through and have her hands actually usable. She dug through the bags and found one full of camping gear. At the bottom of the bag was a swiss army knife. She carefully unfolded it and cut the rope away then moved to free her friends. 

Tosh rubbed at her wrists. “Maybe there’s a phone or radio in one of those bags that I can contact Jack or Owen with.” 

“It’s worth a look. I think whoever they belonged to would forgive us.” Gwen folded the knife and slipped it into her pocket. “What’s that smell?”

Ianto looked around, noting the curtains that separated their side of the cellar from the other. “Maybe through there? It smells like a butchers.” He frowned, the smell turning his stomach. 

“This could just be food storage. There might be another way out.”

“Or it’s a body.”

“Not unless it’s on ice. It doesn’t have that sickly edge that decomp does.” She cringed, remembering the times she’d been sent on a wellness check that ended with a call to the coroner. She brushed back one of the plastic curtains, the smell getting much stronger. Ianto followed her through, trying not to breathe through his nose, noticing the wrapped chunks of meat of the table. It looked like pork. There was a box of discarded bones set aside. 

“Those bones look… Well they don’t look right.”

“Alien pigs?”

“I hope so.” He walked over to one of the fridges, pulling his sleeve down over his hand before pulling the handle. The door swung open and he nearly passed out at the sight. Limbs. Human limbs sat on the shelves between more wrapped chunks of meat. Gwen had to hold back a scream, grabbing Iantos arm and pulling him back through the curtain. He coughed and tried to settle his stomach, or at least make sure he wasn’t going to see his lunch again. 

“That wasn’t… That can’t… Can’t be real.” Gwen spluttered, staring at the curtain. 

Tosh stood. “What happened? What’s going on?”

“They aren’t just killing people, they’re eating them!” Ianto coughed, his eyes watering and all colour gone from his face. 

“What?!”

“They’re going to try and do that to us, aren’t they?” 

“Calm down.”

“Calm down?! They’re bloody cannibals. Aliens eat people in one piece, they don’t butcher them! What are we even doing here?!” He ranted, completely losing his composure. 

Toshiko couldn’t let that idea sink in. She couldn’t let herself believe that the smell was made up of peoples blood. She needed to hold herself together. “We had to find out-”

“But why us? Haven’t we done enough? Haven’t we seen enough?!”

“There isn’t anyone else.”

“How much will it take? Until we can’t take anymore. We put ourselves through hell for what?! People like this?! What are we still doing this for?!” 

“Because there are good people out there. Innocent people that need to be protected.”

“And what about us, eh? Who protects us?!”

“We protect each other!” Tosh snapped. “We keep each other safe. We don’t just give up when everything is too much, because if we don’t then no one else has to die.”

Gwen looked between them, trying to think of a way of diffusing the situation. The sound of the door unlocking did that for her. They all placed their hands behind their backs so they weren’t killed on sight for trying to escape. 


	2. The last straw

Jack and Owen hunkered down, watching a couple of balaclava clad men lock up the van that it could be safely assumed had transported their friends. 

“Wait here.” Jack whispered, not waiting for an answer before he moved closer. As one of the men strayed away the captain grabbed him and dragged him back, one hand clamped firmly over his mouth. He held the man face down in the grass. 

“Make a noise and I’ll kill you. Understood?” 

The man nodded and Jack carefully took his hand away, using the opportunity to bind his captives hands behind his back. 

“The three people you took, where are they?” Asked Owen.

The captive glared up. “I’m not telling you shit.”

“Are you sure? Because I’m not going to stop him hurting you if you don’t start talking.”

“You’re going to end up like them anyway.”

“Like what?”

The man began to chuckle and Jack grabbed his little finger, pulling it back. “Argh! Your little friends are probably dead by now.”

“Where are they?”

“They’ve probably been taken to the slaughter house by now.”

“Which is where?”

“Fuck you, that’s where!” His head was pushed down into the damp mud as Jack twisted his finger with a horrible crunch. The earth muffled the scream.

Owen held his poker face but the fact that Jack showed no sign of emotion while holding the man was unnerving. It was as if he’d done this a million times before. The doctor had seen him interrogate people many times over the years and he was always intimidating but that was as far as it went. This was different. 

“Where?” Growled Jack, his voice low but strong, before pulling the mans head up.

He coughed and spat out a mouthful of mud. “Other side of the village! Past the pub. There’s a tractor outside it.” He gasped.

“If you’re lying we’ll be back, and it won’t just be a finger I’ll break.” 

“You’re just going to leave me here?”

“Just be glad you’re not going to see what I do to the others.” Jack stood, looking taller and more imposing than usual. Owen followed, glancing back at the bound man still lying on the ground. Once they were far enough from anyone he gathered his senses.

“You want to explain what the hell that was?” Owen asked, pretending he wasn’t shaken.

He didn’t look back. “We don’t have long to find them if they’re somewhere called the slaughterhouse.”

“Still. Where did you pick that up?”

“Don’t ask.” 

Gwen, Tosh and Ianto had been marched through the darkness at gunpoint to what looked to be a barn. A strong smell of copper wafted from inside, slipping between plastic curtains in the dull light of bulbs that needed to be replaced. The barn doors were closed and locked behind them. One man, obviously the one running the show, looked the three up and down. He paid special attention to Tosh and it took everything both Gwen and Ianto had not to deck him. They were out manned and out gunned, but that didn’t mean they were going to do nothing. 

“Leave her alone.” Ianto hissed. 

The man laughed and sized him up. Ianto smiled then swung, slamming his fist into the mans temple, knocking him to the blood stained floor. Gwen grabbed the knife from her pocket, ready for the chaos to descend. She only just managed to fend off two before she was slammed into the wall, the knife knocked from her hand. No amount of struggling would help as her wrists were rebound. The sound of a shotgun filled the air. Tosh cried out as the pellets tore into her leg. She landed hard and was pounced upon, dragged over next to Gwen, blood dripping into the dirt. Ianto took the worst beating, though the adrenaline kept a large part of the pain at bay. He knew they’d kicked him in the stomach and it was a miracle he hadn’t thrown up at that point. He could taste copper and he knew blood was dripping from his nose. He winced as the barrel of a gun was pressed against his temple. This was it. This was the end. Dying in a filthy barn at the hands of these sorry excuses for humans. He could hear his friends screaming, begging for his life and somehow that made it worse. He could hear something else. An engine. The wall of the barn collapsed under the power of a large tractor being driven directly through. The air filled with the sound of gunfire and Jacks furious voice ordering everyone to freeze. Ianto dared to look up, seeing the woman who’d been very close to ending his life with her hands up. He dragged himself up and rushed over to Tosh, untying both her and Gwens wrists. 

“Owen!” He called. “Tosh has been shot!” 

Owen sprinted over, skidding to a halt and pulling his bag from his back. Just before he put his gloves on he handed his phone to Gwen, along with her gun. “Call your old mates. If anyone moves, take out their knee caps.” 

The trip back was a flurry of sirens, police, ambulances and blowing up the tyres of the SUV. It was sunrise by the time anyone got home. Jack told them all to take the next two days off. Ianto had showered and crawled into bed. He’d slept on and off for a few hours but the bruising had started to ache and pulse. The adrenaline had long worn off and he was alone in his thoughts. All of that, all the pain for nothing. He just wanted to forget everything he’d seen. He needed to. The whisky bottles in the kitchen called to him and he intended to answer. It didn’t help. What time was it? Eight already? He hadn’t blacked out. One of the empty bottles rolled across the floor, stopping as it hit the fridge. A photo of him and Lisa was held to the metal with a magnet she’d bought when they’d first started dating. What was he even doing this for? That was the thing with Torchwood. There was no quitting, no moving on, no escape. There was only death. Flashes of what he’d seen in that cellar crossed through his thoughts and it was the last straw. He staggered to the bathroom, grabbing bottles of painkillers, his vision blurry from tears and intoxication. Back in the kitchen he took out his phone, the lock screen almost mocking him with Lisas bright smiling face. He sobbed. Looking at the pill bottles in front of him he couldn’t see a future for himself. It was over. It had to be over. 

Gwen lent on Rhys’ shoulder. She hadn’t slept at all but after having a good cry she felt a little better. Her phone rang and she reached over, hitting the answer button. 

“Ianto?”

She heard sobbing from the other end and sat up straight. 

“Ianto? Are you there?”

“I… I can’t do this… I…” He whimpered.

“Oh sweetheart, it’ll be ok. Why don’t you come round, you shouldn’t be alone.”

“Can’t… I’ve taken… Taken a few pills…”

She was suddenly very awake, her heart racing, running to grab her coat. “What have you taken? Ianto! Ianto you answer me right now.” Rhys watched her, putting two and two together and rushing to pull on his boots. 

“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t… Shouldn’t have called... “

“Please stay on the phone with me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ianto… Ianto!” She looked at her phone and he’d hung up. “I need to go. I think-”

Rhys pulled on his coat and grabbed his keys. “I heard. Should we call an ambulance?”

“I… I don’t know if he’s actually taken anything… Just be ready if he has.”

Gwen slammed her fist on Iantos door again. He wasn’t answering. Rhys placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“Stand back.” He took a few steps back and rammed the door open with his shoulder. Inside the smell of alcohol was strong and a quiet sobbing could be heard drifting through the darkness. She rushed in and spotted a figure, curled up on the kitchen floor. 

“Oh Ianto.” She knelt in front of him, holding his arms. “Sweetheart, I need you to tell me what you’ve taken.” 

Ianto lifted his head, eyes red and puffy. “I couldn’t do it… I can’t even do that right.” He cried. 

“Oh you silly bastard.” She sobbed in relief, pulling him into her arms. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”

“M’sorry.” He whimpered. “I just… I couldn’t… Can’t do this anymore… They butchered them Gwen… They fucking ate them.” 

“I know. I know.” She snuffled, the lump in her throat becoming painful. 

He descended into racking sobs, wailing out every bit of grief he’d been holding onto for so long. She sat on the cold kitchen floor with him, hushing him softly as she rocked back and forth holding him. 

At a loose end Rhys switched the lights on and looked around to make sure there was nothing around the poor man could hurt himself with. Gwen had told him that her workmate had lost his girlfriend recently and she’d said that the trip the night before had been tough. She couldn’t give details but it must have been horrific whatever it was. 

Gwen gently guided Ianto into the living room, setting him down on the sofa. He was shivering and looked exhausted. She walked to the bedroom and grabbed the duvet from his bed to cover him with. 

“Rhys, could you sit with him for a sec. I need to make a few calls.”

“Um… Yea… What do I say?”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just get him some water and sit there. I won’t be long.”

“Ok.” He nodded, out of his depth. He grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and placed it on the coffee table, then sat across from Ianto. The poor lad looked broken. 

“You work with Gwen then?” He said more than asked, the near silence feeling oppressive. 

Ianto nodded. 

“She still won’t tell me what she does.”

“Special ops.” It was a reply he’d heard a lot of people use over the years so it must be a decent enough cover. 

“Ah, right… Must have been a bad one last night.”

“People were going missing… It was the villagers… They kidnapped people… Killed them… Ate them.”

“Shit.” Rhys breathed. “I’m sorry.” 

Gwen tapped her foot. The one time she needed Jack to answer and he was completely uncontactable. Typical. She flicked down the list of contacts to Owens number. It rang twice before he picked up.

“You ok?” He asked.

“Me? I’m fine. Listen, Ianto’s in a bad way. He’s drunk and I think he was going to overdose.”

“Shit. Ok, has he actually taken anything?”

“No. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. They’re all over the kitchen floor.”

“Ok. Just flush the lot. Can you stay with him?”

“For a bit, yea. Can you come over?”

“Jack’s brought in whatever killed that old body that was sent to us so I’m stuck helping him with that. Soonest I can promise is tomorrow morning. You can either take him to the hospital and leave him with the crisis team or stay with him tonight and I’ll bring what I can tomorrow. Do me a favour and make sure he takes one of the sertraline tablets with food before he goes to sleep tonight. He’ll probably forget. I think he keeps them in his room.”

“Ok. What’s that?”

“It’s the antidepressant I’ve got him on since what happened with Lisa. I’m going to have to up his dose but that’s for me to deal with tomorrow. He shouldn’t be drinking anyway.”

“Right, I can do that. How’s Tosh?”

“She’ll be fine. The buckshot didn’t go too deep so she just has to rest it.”

“Good. Sorry to just call you like this.”

“I want you to call me if things like this happen. Ianto never tells me anything. Gotta go, duty calls.”

“Thanks Owen.” She hung up and sighed. It was going to be a long night. 

An hour after Ianto had gone to bed Gwen slumped down on the sofa. 

“So, we’re camping are we?” Rhys smiled softly, trying his best to be supportive. 

She laughed. “I suppose we are. Sorry about all this.”

“No. No, the poor lad needed you. You help people, that’s part of why I love you.” 

“I thought you hated my new job.”

“I hate that you can’t talk to me about it. That and your boss giving you bedroom eyes.”

“He gives literally everyone bedroom eyes.”

He moved to sit on the sofa with her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Well, I get jealous. I can’t help it.”

“You don’t need to.”

“I know, I know… So, special ops, eh?”

“What? Who said that?” She let her eyes dart to him. 

“Ianto did. I get that you can’t give me details but you can tell me you’ve had a bad day or seen something horrible, you know?”

She sighed. “It’s just hard to work out what I can and can’t say.”

“Well, being as I know the ending, do you want to talk about the rest of the story?”

She smiled wearily and settled in for the long night. 


End file.
